“We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom,” she said in a statement, “and that they are honored and respected accordingly.”

In the aftermath of the observatory protests, finding the right balance between astronomy and preservation of the Maunakea sacred site remains a challenge.

Oakland’s Indigenous-woman-led Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and members of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation recently held a celebration to mark their preservation of a 2.2-acre sacred site known as the West Berkeley Shellmound.

The compound has long been a deeply contested religious space, as it stands on the Temple Mount, which Jews consider their most sacred site.

Jews consider the compound the most sacred site in Judaism, the Biblical Temple Mount.